Increase your CPD bookings
Delivering a CPD seminar is one of the most effective means of introducing your company and the sales contact, to an architects’ practice. But as the choice of CPD seminars available increases, it becomes much harder to get a booking. To be effective, companies need to sell-in their CPD seminars.
I was recently running a training course that looked at how to encourage architects to book a CPD seminar. This may seem rather a strange approach, but my client recognises the benefit of CPD as a door opener, however their sales team had been having problems achieving their target number of seminar bookings, so asked me to help them with a solution.
In looking at this I realised that CPD is just like any other product and needs to be sold-in, especially now that there is so much choice. Forward looking companies need to consider the benefits of booking their seminar, for the architect. This may seem obvious – achieving CPD hours, but these days with so much choice, architects can pick and choose. Furthermore, the person in the practice responsible for the booking, wants to be sure they are not wasting their colleagues’ time.
So, just as you promote your products and services you need to ensure an approach which will create demand for your CPD seminar. This means selecting a subject, which is both interesting and relatively unique. If all of your competitors are offering the same subject, you have already reduced your chance of success, just based on the law of averages. Look at the subjects your competitors and manufacturers of complementary products are offering and select a topic which is not being covered already.
Think about what the practice will gain from attending the seminar – an understanding of a new regulation, the ability to design better solutions, a unique understanding of a difficult concept. It’s the old Features and Benefits concept. You must present sufficient, relevant benefits to outweigh any doubts. Perhaps support this with some testimonials from other practices that have experienced your seminar.
Next, focus on the title of the seminar. This needs to be short, punchy and make a positive statement about how you can help your audience. But avoid making it sound like a sales pitch.
Then apply the sales rule “Make it Easy to Buy” or in this case organise. How can you reduce the workload for the CPD coordinator and also ensure a good turnout? Make this part of the package you are offering. Everyone is busy and if you can make it easy for them it will be another benefit.
Finally, when you do come to deliver the seminar, make sure that it lives up to your promises and is well presented by someone technically qualified in the subject.
Get all of this right and you will see your seminar bookings increase, more doors open and product specification increase.
CPD Seminars : In-House Training course
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Chris is founder of Competitive Advantage Consultancy Limited which specialises in market research and training for the construction industry. He is also a member of the organising committee for CIMCIG, the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s Construction Industry Group
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First Published: July 2010, RIBA Insight Monthly Bulletin
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